| Abstrakt: |
Purpose: To estimate the association between a previous cancer diagnosis and healthcare use during the COVID-19 pandemic among Europeans and Israelis individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), including the SHARE COVID-19 Survey, which was conducted in the summer of 2020, in 27 countries. Cancer survivors (CS, n = 6409) were country-, sex-, age-, and education-matched (1:2) to non-cancer individuals (NC). Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were computed using logistic regression. Results: Overall, CS were more likely to refer that they forwent medical appointments due to fear of COVID-19 (OR = 1.29, 95%CI 1.19–1.41) than NC, particularly those who lived with their partner and other relatives (OR = 1.79, 95%CI 1.39–2.30). Likewise, CS had their medical appointments postponed more often (OR = 1.54, 95%CI 1.44–1.64); this association was stronger among CS who lived with their partner and other relatives (OR = 1.96, 95%CI 1.63–2.36) who reported higher economic difficulties (OR = 1.73, 95%CI 1.50–2.00) and those with no multimorbidity (OR = 1.85, 95%CI 1.62–2.11). CS were also more likely to refer that they were unable to book an appointment (OR = 1.43, 95%CI 1.26–1.63), particularly those who reported that a person close to them died due to COVID-19 (OR = 2.72, 95%CI 1.47–5.01). Conclusion: CS were more likely to forgo medical treatment, report healthcare postponements, and be unable to book an appointment than NC, which highlights the importance of closely monitoring the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic along the cancer care continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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